Curious about your favorite gun

[Ryle Miaga]

Imagine you could only have one gun in your collection. Which one would you choose? What brand, model, and caliber would you trust to handle any situation that comes your way?

 

[blaze_rave]

If I had to pick just one, itd prolly be a Glock 19 in 9mm. It's super reliable, parts are easy to find and it's easy to maintain. It works well for carrying, home defense and hitting the range. While it might not excel in any one area, it’s solid all around. A bit boring, but definitely a practical choice.

 

[Dun]

My FAVORITE firearm? Impossible!. Too many favorites collected over a lifetime to cull out just one. As most here probably know for themselves. Too many possible needs/uses to pick only one. I suppose, after some thought that it would have to be either my Browning HiPower, or my inherited German 8mm Mauser, (my Dad's ww2 bring-back) which has been in my life ALL my life...
All that said, if it came to one firearm forever, I'd have to go (very reluctantly, mind you) with one of my 12 gauge shotguns- either Mossberg 500 or Remington 870. Both have been set up and used by me professionally for security and patrol purposes. They retired with me and I was pretty Bad *ss with them.

 

[oldcorps76]

I agree with Dun on the "near impossible."

Handguns, have to go with two. 2nd Gen Colt SAA .45 4 3/4" I wanted all my life, and a Kimber Ultra CDP (first gen before Kimber got effed up) .45 because it was my brother's gun. Both wear ivory grips. Suppressed Glock 19 with RMR a close third.

Rifles? Winchester M1 Garand and custom Argentine 7mm Mauser I had built 40 years ago. Several AR's would compete for third place.

Shotguns are easy - I have only one, a Mossberg 590A1 Marinecote with barrel shroud and Streamlight TL Racker.

 

[ducky]

I have a few custom rifles that I had built, some old military sporters, nice factory rifles, and several semi autos that I enjoy shooting and owning. If I had to choose one rifle I'd want something that'll handle varmints to deer sized game, and be fun to shoot all day.

So for me it's my Stevens 200 in 6X47 Rem (6mm-222 Remington Magnum). There is nothing fancy about the rifle, it's just the first rifle I ever assembled. I ordered the 20" barrel, got an action wrench, and barrel nut wrench and went to town. Spot bedded the rifle into the spray painted factory stock with Accraglass, ugly as dried bird poop but works. I replaced the bolt handle and trigger with Sharp Shooter Supply offerings, topped it off with a Leupold 4-12X40 AO VX‐II, and commenced to launching 70 grain Nosler BT at 3000 fps into tiny little groups.

I've shot white tail, pronghorn, coyotes and unknown amounts of praire dogs with that rifle. The only thing I'd change is the barrel, the 1:12 twist hinders it from using really good bullets for hunting. The only bullet over 70 grains it shoot decent are the discontinued Speer 80 grain SP bullets as they are short flat base bullets. Anything over 70 grains with a boat tail will keyhole at 100 yards.

I built a Savage 10 6X45 (6mm-223 Rem) since the .223 case is much easier to procure. I had X-Caliber build a fluted 1:7 twist barrel, 24" long to get as much speed as possible out of the tiny case. It can handle up to 105/107 grain bullets easily in the factory mag. I have 1000s of 100 grain SPBT Sierra Game King bullets to run through it. However, even though it's a nearly identical build, it just doesn't shoot as well as my original 6X47 Rem.

 

[oldcorps76]

I have a few custom rifles that I had built, some old military sporters, nice factory rifles, and several semi autos that I enjoy shooting and owning. If I had to choose one rifle I'd want something that'll handle varmints to deer sized game, and be fun to shoot all day.

So foe me it's my Stevens 200 in 6X47 Rem (6mm-222 Remington Magnum). There is nothing fancy about the rifle, it's just the first rifle I ever assembled. I ordered the 20" barrel, got an action wrench, and barrel nut wrench and went to town. Spot bedded the rifle into the spray painted factory stock with Accraglass, ugly as dried bird poop but works. I replaced the bolt handle and trigger with Sharp Shooter Supply offerings, topped it off with a Leupold 4-12X40 AO VX‐II, and commenced to launching 70 grain Nosler BT at 3000 fps into tiny little groups.

I've shot white tail, pronghorn, coyotes and unknown amounts of praire dogs with that rifle. The only thing I'd change is the barrel, the 1:12 twist hinders it from using really good bullets for hunting. The only bullet over 70 grains it shoot decent are the discontinued Speer 80 grain SP bullets as they are short flat base bullets. Anything over 70 grains with a boat tail will keyhole at 100 yards.

I built a Savage 10 6X45 (6mm-223 Rem) since the .223 case is much easier to procure. I had X-Caliber build a fluted 1:7 twist barrel, 24" long to get as much speed as possible out of the tiny case. It can handle up to 105/107 grain bullets easily in the factory mag. I have 1000s of 100 grain SPBT Sierra Game King bullets to run through it. However, even though it's a nearly identical build, it just doesn't shoot as well as my original 6X47 Rem.

Guys like you who built their own bolt guns were a lot more common when I was a kid. Of course, now we have boomers like me assembling M4 pistol-braces in .223 and 300 BO for ourselves and our kids...

 

[Dun]

I agree with Dun on the "near impossible."

Handguns, have to go with two. 2nd Gen Colt SAA .45 4 3/4" I wanted all my life, and a Kimber Ultra CDP (first gen before Kimber got effed up) .45 because it was my brother's gun. Both wear ivory grips. Suppressed Glock 19 with RMR a close third.

Rifles? Winchester M1 Garand and custom Argentine 7mm Mauser I had built 40 years ago. Several AR's would compete for third place.

Shotguns are easy - I have only one, a Mossberg 590A1 Marinecote with barrel shroud and Streamlight TL Racker.

Very good choice of shotgun set-up. Such was out of my price range for a working gun, but would have been nice to have!

 

[oldcorps76]

Very good choice of shotgun set-up. Such was out of my price range for a working gun, but would have been nice to have!

Thanks! I did *a lot* of mods on that gun.

I got the Mossberg because it was only $400 on GB at the time and had been up there for multiple cycles, the price kept going down. I like the A1 as it is all steel and mil-spec. Straight 590's can be had for a lot less.

I picked the Streamlight TL because it was only $129 and I liked the ergos better than the Surefire which was +$400.

I saw how hot the barrel got after not too many rounds, so I got a 590 barrel shroud that needed some mods to fit the A1. But it's on there tight.

I also didn't like the slippery stock material, so I bought some of that "cat's tongue" tape you see on outdoor stairs and applied it to the pistol grip and Streamlight forend bottom.

Last, I removed the recoil pad, cut the stock down to a hair under 13" LOP to better fit me, and then planed the recoil pad so it would not stand proud of the stock. A 6-round stock ammo carrier finished the job.